


A Dance of Blue

by Gothra



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Dancing, F/F, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 09:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20423390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothra/pseuds/Gothra
Summary: Beauregard has never been much one for dancing... that is, until a certain blue tiefling cleric asked her to. Beau is no stranger to fights, but the dance floor is an entirely different battlefield.





	A Dance of Blue

Beau stood by the drinks in the ballroom, watching the pairs of finely dressed Xhorhasians -- almost entirely made up of drow -- dance slowly to the relaxed tune the band was playing. She took a sip of her drink, some kind of wine she'd never heard of in her life. It tasted... expensive, if not particularly good. Beau shrugged, downing the rest of her drink -- things like this weren't her scene and she was going to need a fair bit of alcohol to make it through the night.

She looked for her friends mixed in with the crowd -- there was Caduceus, somehow having gathered the attention of a small group of people listening to him talk about something, though what it was Beau couldn't tell. Fjord was standing aside in his nicely tailored suit, much like Beau herself in both location and dress. His eyes met hers, and he gave her a nod -- a silent solidarity with Beau's situation. Nott was scampering around, likely seeing what small trinkets she could nab while people weren't paying attention. Not far from them, Jester had managed to convince a somewhat tipsy Caleb to dance with her, like they had back in Hupperdook. At least Caleb wasn't as much of a drunken mess as he was that night. Jester was wearing an extravagant dress, purple and black and puffing out at the bottom -- Beau remembered having helped her pick one out, which had taken Jester most of the preceding day to decide on.

Jester noticed Beau's gaze, saying something to Caleb before running off in Beau's direction. She practically bounced to a stop in front of Beauregard, her eyes wide and excited.

"Beau!"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't this so wonderful? All these beautiful outfits, and the music, and-- and all of it?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Beau mumbled, as she took a sip of her third drink of the evening.

Jester's smile softened to an expression of tender curiosity. "Are you not having fun, Beau?"

Looking at Jester's sweet, round face, Beau couldn't find it in her to lie. Not to Jester. "I mean-- it's just that my... my parents used to drag me to things like this all the time when I was little. Always making me put on a dress and whatever, y'know? 'To actually be a girl for one night' is what they'd tell me."

Jester frowned. "Oh, that's so sad. You're parents sound like they were assholes."

"Yeah, they were. But it's... it's no big deal. Just kinda weird feelin' to be here is all."

A sly grin stretched across Jester's lips. "Well if it helps, _I_ think you look absolutely beautiful in a suit," she said, pulling on the lapel of Beau's blue jacket.

Beau smiled back. "Thanks Jester."

The music being played changed, taking on a bit of a slower tempo. Jester looked out into the crowd again, then back to Beau.

"Don't worry about me, go have fun," Beau said.

Jester offered her hand to Beau, with her eyebrows raised.

"I, wh... what is this?" Beau stammered out.

"I want you to come dance with me, silly," Jester said, her smile widening across her face.

"Oh, um... y'know, I don't really know if... if I should, I wouldn't want to... intrude? Or whatever?"

Jester laughed. "It's not intruding if I asked you to, Beau."

Beauregard took a deep breath, trying not to stare at the stunningly gorgeous tiefling in front of her. Of course she wanted to dance with her, the only problem was....

"I... don't know how to dance."

Jester's hand lowered. "Really?" She said, tilting her head.

Beau nodded. "I never learned how to, and so I just... kinda avoided it."

"Well..." Jester said, taking a step closer to to Beau. She could smell the perfume coming off the tiefling now, a fragrance that smelled as sweet as the pastries that Jester loved. Beau's heart skipped a beat when she felt Jester's fingers intertwine with her's. She stared down at Jester's face -- with that damn soft smile that melted Beau's heart absolutely every time she saw it -- and she hoped that the burning in her cheeks wasn't too obvious. "...Nobody knows how to dance at first. My Mama taught me the only way to learn how... is to just go out there and do it!"

With that, Jester pulled Beauregard out onto the dance floor -- not forcefully, and if she had wanted to Beau was certain she could've pulled away. If she wanted to, that was. Instead, Beau set her drink down on the nearby table as fast as she could, and soon the cold, perspiring glass was replaced by the touch of Jester's other hand. Jester swayed with the rhythm of the music, as Beau stiffly tried to match her movements.

"Try to relax," Jester said to her in a calming tone.

"I-- I'm, sorry, I'm just... I'm nervous."

Jester touched a hand to Beau's cheek, and Beau thought she might die right there. "You shouldn't be. I've seen you punch a demon's heart out, you know, I think you can handle one dance with me."

Beau tried to swallow her own anxiety. "Y-- yeah, you're right. I can do this, I can--"

Beau felt her foot hit Jester's, almost tripping before the tiefling caught her in her arms.

"S-- sorry. Sorry," Beau said, standing back up straight. "I... I should just go, this isn't-- this is--"

"Beau," Jester said, with that tender firmness she was so damn good at. "It's okay to mess up, you know? We all mess up sometimes."

Jester held her hand out again. Beau stared at it for a moment, before taking it into her own hand. "Yeah. And we all mess up a lot."

Jester giggled. "We mess up like, _so_ much."

This time, Beau tried less to focus on matching Jester's movements, instead turning her attention on the soft ballad that was being played. The dance seemed to come easier now -- in fact, it was starting to remind her of her monk training with the Cobalt Soul, all about being in tune with yourself, or however her instructors had put it. It wasn't like she ever listened very closely.

"See? Now you're getting it," Jester said. "Just relax and listen to the music."

Beau started to smile. She had to admit she was starting to enjoy herself. When she felt Jester's hands let go of her own, she panicked for a moment before she felt one grab her shoulder, the other touching the small of Beau's back.

Jester looked at Beau's arms, still hanging at her side. "Now you put yours on my waist."

"Oh, uh... right, right," Beau said, complying with the instruction. Jester felt so much closer now, her beautiful purple eyes staring up at Beau, something within them making Beau's heart stir.

A moment later, and Jester was indeed closer -- leaning against Beau, resting her head against the monk's chest. Beau desperately hoped that Jester couldn't hear how fast her heart was beating.

Gradually the music began to increase its tempo, slowly warping into a joyful, upbeat sound. Jester pulled away from Beau, looking at her with a big smile on her face. Jester interlocked her hands with Beau's again, and the blue tiefling's dance became energetic, with Jester happily bouncing on her feet. "Come on, Beau!" Jester said, trying to get the monk to match her own excitement.

Beau smiled, pushing her nerves away. All she had to do now was let go... let the music, and Jester, lead her. This felt right to Beau -- the speed, the intensity, like a fight -- but with a little less blood and bruising. Beau and Jester spun, hands still clasped together. To Jester's surprise, Beau took the lead, wrapping her hand around Jester's back and pulling her close, so close that their faces were barely an inch apart. Jester raised an arm, lifting Beau's with it, and giving the human a wink and a grin, began to twirl. Beau followed along perfectly, holding her hand above as Jester completed her dizzying spin, her tail curling in the air behind her. When she finished, Beau pulled her in close once more -- then they stepped back from each other, arms outstretched and still holding onto each other, Jester spinning again as she was pulled in closer. Holding her one hand on Jester's back, and the other still tightly interlaced with Jester's hand, Beau dipped the tiefling backwards, as Beau herself leaned forward, face close to face once more as the song finished.

The two held their pose, breathing a bit heavily now. The tiefling looked almost stunned at Beau's sudden burst of confidence -- almost as stunned as Beau looked herself. Jester giggled, her eyes drifting shut. Beau felt the overwhelming urge to just move that small space forward, to put her lips on Jester's... when the sudden burst of uproarious applause snapped her out of her haze.

Jester's eyes whipped open as well, and both her and Beau found themselves looking around the room, to see that a small crowd had gathered to watch them dance, both having been too focused on the other to notice. The two quickly stood up straight, blushing. Jester gave a small wave to the crowd, before she and Beau both darted off.

Beau headed in Caleb's direction, who had summoned Frumpkin to rest upon his shoulders. He slowly clapped as Beau approached, and she looked down, trying to hide that her cheeks were still flushed with color.

"Quite the show, Beauregard."

"Fuck off, Caleb," Beau said, giving him a light punch on the arm.

"You and Jester looked awfully, uh, close there at the end. I thought you were almost about to, um--"

"Don't you dare fuckin' finish that sentence," Beau said as she jabbed a finger in Caleb's face.

Caleb chuckled, looking past Beau. "It appears your dance partner is coming this way."

"What?" Beau whipped around, and sure enough there was Jester, who stopped dead in her tracks a second soon as Beau looked at her.

Caleb patted Beau on the arm. "I, ah, believe I should be taking my leave now. I have an inkling that this is a, uh... conversation that is better off being held privately."

Caleb walked away, heading in the direction of Fjord and Caduceus. After he left, Jester approached Beau, clasping her hands out in front of her, wringing her hands and worrying her bottom lip. Soon, she was standing right in front of Beau, looking down at the floor. _Shit_ Beau thought, _does she know?_ This is exactly why Beau had been trying to avoid -- if Jester knew how she felt about her, it could ruin everything.

"U-- um... hi," Jester said, still avoiding looking Beau in the eyes.

Beau took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry Jes, I sho--"

"I really had fun and I--"

The two spoke over each other, and for the first time Jester looked Beau in the eye. Jester's cheeks were deep blue, and Beau assumed she was probably still embarrassed about what had happened earlier.

"Wh... why are you saying sorry?" Jester asked.

Beau scratched at the back of her head. "Well, uh... y'know, it's-- it's... ah shit."

"If you're worried I'm mad about people watching us dance earlier or something, I'm not. I... I really, really liked it. Well, I mean, not being _watched_, that wasn't cool, but dancing with you was."

"You... you did?"

Jester smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, and I was... I was wondering if you'd wanna... dance... again? Sometime? When there's less people, maybe."

"Oh, uh--"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, that was stupid, I'll just go--" Jester spoke with barely a pause between her words, turning to walk away when Beau put a hand out on Jester's shoulder to stop her.

"I... I think I'd like that," Beau said, smiling.

"Really?"

"Of course. Maybe next time you can... show me some new moves, y'know?"

"Oh totally, there's _so much_ cool shit I can teach you. You better be ready, cause I won't go so easy on you next time." Jester laughed, then paused for a moment, thinking. "Y-- you know, Beau, when we finished dancing, I-- I almost..."

"Almost what?"

"...Nothing, it-- it's nothing, don't worry about it."

Beau shrugged. "If you say so."

Jester was about to walk away, but stopped at the sound of Beau's voice.

"Night's not over yet. How about one more dance?" Jester looked over her shoulder at Beauregard. "Maybe a little less... attention-gathering this time?"

Jester smiled, letting Beau take her hand and lead her out onto the dance floor.

Beau and Jester spent most of the rest of their night slowly dancing together. Earlier, Beau wanted nothing more than for this damn ball to just be over, but now... now she wanted nothing more in the world than for it to never end.

**Author's Note:**

> I've never posted anything here before, so aaaaah I hope whoever reads this likes it (and that I didn't mess anything up too badly)! Got the idea from watching the dance scene from Adolescence of Utena (again) and just could NOT get the idea of a Beaujes dance scene out of my head, and I hope other people will appreciate it too! Also in case anyone was wondering why Yasha wasn't there, it's because I set this before the party will (hopefully) get her back.


End file.
